Diabetes is a disease afflicting tens of millions of people. Current diagnostic testing can include expensive doctor’s visits and invasive testing, which makes diagnosing and monitoring the disease anything but straightforward. One symptom of diabetes is “fruity” breath, which may occur when the body cannot produce or use insulin effectively.

An illustration of (left) an acetone molecule adsorbed on a titanium dioxide cluster at the surface of a carbon nanotube, and (right) a hypothetical diabetes breathalyzer device.

The U.S. Department of Energy has great interest in technologies that will lead to reducing the CO2 emissions of fossil-fuel-burning power plants. Advanced energy technologies such as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) can potentially lead to the clean and efficient use of fossil fuels to power our nation. The development of new energy technologies, however, takes a long time, as the technologies need to be tested at multiple scales, progressing from lab scale to pilot scale to demonstration scale before widespread deployment. In addition to developing new energy technologies, NETL’s research is working to reduce the cost and time of technology development.